Budget plan would slash 100K Army troops

10:07 PM,
Jan. 18, 2014

Written by

Tom Vanden Brook
| USA Today

The Army would be slashed by more than 100,000 soldiers to a force of 420,000 by 2019 under budget plans set to be unveiled next month. It is a level far below what Army leaders have said they would need to ensure they can fight one major war.

The Army currently has 528,000 soldiers and had been scheduled to drop to 490,000 troops by 2019. The 420,000 level reflects Pentagon planning based on automatic budget cuts that will reduce military spending by about $500 billion over the decade unless Congress restores the funding.

This fall, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno warned top Pentagon ...